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Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Indonesian Police Special Response Unit / Detasemen Gegana

DETASEMEN GEGANA

Gegana is the Indonesian Police special response unit. This unit was formed in 1976 as a detachment. Later in 1995, with the expansion of Brimob, the Gegana Detachment was expanded to become 2nd Regiment BRIMOB. Its duties are anti-terror, dealing with armed criminals, close protection, search and rescue (SAR), and explosive disposal operations in urban settings. In general, each Gegana member is capable of performing these duties. However, there are a select few who are very skilled in these special duties.

Gegana does not have Battalion or Company. The Regiment is broken down into several detachments. Within each detachment they are split into sub-detachments (sub-den), and within each sub-den they are further sub-divided into several units. Each unit usually consists of 10 personnel. One sub-den consists of 40 personnel, and one detachment consists of about 280 personnel.

One operation is usually assigned to one unit. Therefore, from the 10 people in that unit, six are required to have special skills: two for EOD (Explosives and Ordnance Disposal), two for SAR operations, and two for counter-terrorist operations. In any operation, two experts are designated Operators One and Two while the rest of the unit members become the Support Team.

For example, in counter-terrorist operations, the designated Operators must have sharp-shooting skills, ability to negotiate, and be an expert in storm-and-arrest procedures. These skills and operations are not meant to be lethal because the main goal of every Gegana operation is to arrest suspects and bring them to the court. Unless there is a situation that Gegana has to do otherwise, there will be no shooting.

In SAR operation, the personnel are required to have the basic capabilities of diving, rappelling, shooting, and first aid. In anti-bomb operation, the Operators have to be the expert in their respective fields. Each Gegana personnel has been introduced to various types of bombs in general, including the risks of handling them. There are specific procedures for handling each bomb, including the required timing.

Currently, Gegana has three Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) tactical vehicles. This number is far from sufficient because ideally each Gegana unit is supposed to have one. Other than three EOD vehicles at Gegana offices, there is one EOD vehicle in West Java Police Department (PD), Central Java PD, and East Java PD. So, overall there is only six EOD units available in Indonesia.

The Indonesian Police Chief has the highest command in each Gegana operation, executed by his Operation Assistant.